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T'skrang
The T'skrang are a playable race of Lizardmen in the tabletop RPG Earthdawn. Flamboyant and flashy, they are known exaggerators with an unmatched exuberance for life. Description T'skrang are reptilian beings with a flair for the dramatic. They average 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and their tails add another 6 feet of length. T'skrang weigh an average of 200 pounds, of which nearly 40 is the tail. T'skrang skin color ranges from verdant green to green-yellow or green-blue, with aqua-blue and even sunset-red variants. T'skrang have cauliflower-shaped ears set into the sides of their heads. The t'skrang mature physically by the age of 10, and often live 80 or more years. The t'skrang talent for tale-telling casts doubt on their claims of a 181-year-old t'skrang, particularly because careful dwarf observations place the oldest known t'skrang at a mere 115. T'skrang scholars blame this variance on faulty dwarf calculations, which o course the dwarfs vigorously deny. T'skrang give primary loyalty to their families, though like humans, they can transfer this loyalty to tribes and nations. Some individuals pledge their loyalty to other races' societies, but pirate federations are the closest thing to a nation the t'skrang have built for themselves. Females lead t'skrang society, which is matriarchal in most aspects. T'skrang prefer to live in roofed dwellings along bodies of water, and submerge portions of their homes. T'skrang love to swim and immerse themselves in water, becoming sulky and irritable if unable to do so at least once a week. T'skrang consider members of the other Name-giver races rather dull and boring. In turn, most other Name-giver races consider t'skrang overly flamboyant and somewhat frivolous. All races agree that each holds a unique and necessary place in the society of Barsaive, and so agree to disagree. Each t'skrang takes pride in the heritage and bloodline of his or her niall, or foundation. The foundation is a large communal family consisting of thirty to sixty kin, from infants to ancients, all living under a single roof. Lineage is traced through the materal line. When a woman takes a husband, the male leaves his foundation to join the niall of his mate. Sometimes, allied nialls will band together in what is known as a "crew covenant," combining their numbers to operate a riverboat or fleet of riverboats. The largest political units among the t'skrang are the aropagoi, or Great Houses. Just as a crew covenant consist of several cooperating foundations, so each aropagoi consist of numerous villages and crew covenants. Each Great House coordinates trade operations to the benefit of the crews and villages that compose it. The main purpose of the aropgoi are profit and trade advantage. Political ambition, especially as understood in Troalic and Theran terms of military allianc and land control, has no place among the t'skrang aropagoi. Each of the aropagoi controls a section f the Serpent River and regulates trade and passage in that territory. The aropagoi do not control the entire length of the Serpent; some villages do not belong to an aropagoi, but most see the advantage of that system. Racial abilities The racial abilities of an T'skrang are as follows: *'Tail Attack:' The t'skrang can attack opponents using their tails. The character uses either his Unarmed Combat talent (or skill) or his Dexterity step to make the Attack Test for using his tail. Make a Damage Test using the character's Strength step plus 3 steps. For example, a t'skrang character with Strength Step 5 has Damage Step 8 for a tail attack. Culture Language The standard language of the T'skrang is considered to be slightly harder to read and write than that of many other higher races, though there are other dialects that may be even more difficult. It is considered harder than Dwarf (considered the easiest of the higher race languages to read and write), as well as the slightly more complex languages of the Elves, Humans, Ork, and Troll. It is considered on par with the complexities of the languages of both the Obsidimen and the Windlings. Disciplines T'skrang are known to take on the disciplines of Air Sailor, Archer, Cavalryman, Elementalist, Illusionist, Nethermancer, Scout, Sky Raider, Swordmaster, Thief, Troubadour, Warrior, Weaponsmith, and Wizard. However, no known T'skrang has ever been found to be a Beastmaster. Category:Earthdawn Universe Category:Creatures Category:Fictional Creatures Category:Reptiles Category:Lizards Category:Sapient Beings Category:Humanoids Category:Unknown Diet Category:Magical Creatures